Checking in on 2022 New Year’s Resolutions
As we enter the second quarter of the year, it is a good time to reflect on goals you set back in January. Have your goals become a new habit, are they still a work in progress, or have you completely dropped them? Either way, it is never too late to revive that checklist and begin a new one.
Common New Year’s resolutions include working out more, sticking to a better budget, eating healthy, getting outside more, and the list goes on. While these are nice habits, they will remain lofty, unattainable goals if you do not create a plan to incorporate them into your life. So then how do you set a goal you can actually achieve? It is by making a SMART goal. That’s right, the old SMART goal we learned back in middle school. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely — all the things you need to set manageable goals.
SMART Goals in Practice
Make your goal specific by clearly defining what that goal is and who is involved. For example, a goal of mine is to read more. That sounds great, but what is ‘more?’ Does it mean one book per year or reading every few days? By answering these questions, I can narrow down my goal. It can also be helpful to consider the 5 Ws (who, what, where, when, and why) to make your goal even more specific. For example, I will go to the library and get a…
